SPANISH

Spanish Subject Pronouns: Guide, Chart, Examples & Exercise

Spanish Subject Pronouns are words used to refer to the subject of a sentence. It allows you to talk about the subject without naming it directly, thus avoiding repetition. These are the words I, you, he, she, we, you, and they, and in Spanish they are Yo, tu, él, ella, nosotros, ustedes, ellos, and ellas.

Spanish Subject Pronouns Chart / List with Images

Examples of use

•María is smart. – She is smart.
Explanation: Maria is the subject and “She” is the pronoun replacing her.

•Juan and I are friends. – We are friends.
Explanation: “We” is the subject pronoun that replaces the group “Juan and I”.

Chart of the Spanish Subject Pronouns

Here are the most common Spanish subject pronouns. Note the pronunciation to help you speak with confidence.

Spanish English Pronunciation
Yo I Yoh
Tú / Usted You too / oo-sted
Él / Ella He / She ail / ay-yah
Nosotros (m) / Nosotras (f) We noh-soh-trahs
Ustedes / Vosotros / Vosotras You (Plural) oo-sted-ays / boh-soh-trahs
Ellos (m) / Ellas (f) They ay-yohs / ay-yahs
Ello It (No direct translation) —

Notes: m is male and f female. Spanish has two words for “you” and “we.”

Examples or sentences

•Yo quiero aprender español. – I want to learn Spanish.
•Tú eres muy alto. – You are very tall.
•Él es un buen vecino. – He is a good neighbor.
•Ella toma café. – She drinks coffee.
•Nosotros amamos la comida mexicana. – We love Mexican food.
•Ustedes son locos. – You are crazy.
•Ellos están enamorados. – They are in love.
•Es un árbol. – It is a tree.

Gender and number

The key to Spanish subject pronouns lies in understanding how gender and number agreement affect the plural forms.

1. Singular Pronouns: No Gender Change

Yo, Tú/usted, él and ella are singular and their form does not change regardless of the subject’s gender.

•Yo juego videojuegos – I play video games.
•Tú eres hermosa – You are beautiful.
•Él es buen cocinero – He is a good cook.
•Ella es maestra – She is a teacher.

2. Plural Pronouns: Gender changes – Nosotros and ellos

The pronouns Nosotros, Ellos, (We, They) are plural and they do change depending on the gender of the subjects. Endings in -os are male/neutral and -as are female.

Subject Pronoun English Rule for Use
Nosotros We (Masc./Neutral) Use for groups of males only, or mixed groups.
Nosotras We (Feminine) Use only if the group is exclusively female.
Ellos They (Masc./Neutral) Use for groups of males only, or mixed groups.
Ellas They (Feminine) Use only if the group is exclusively female.

•Nosotros somos amigos (m; m/f) – We are friends.
•Nosotras somos amigas (f) – We are friends.
•Ellos estaban aquí (m; m/f) – They were here.
•Ellas estaban aquí (f) – They were here.

Plural “You”: Regional Differences (Ustedes vs. Vosotros)

In Latin America, you use Ustedes (neutral) for all plural “you” situations. In Spain, you use Vosotros and Vosotras for informal plural. Read more at the RAE website.

•Vosotros estabais en Madrid (m – m/f) – You were in Madrid.
•Vosotras estabais en Madrid (f) – You were in Madrid.

Tú vs. Usted vs. Vos

There are three main ways to say “you” in the singular. For a full breakdown, visit our guide on Tú vs. Usted and Vos.

  • Tú: Informal/casual (friend, relative, young person).
  • Usted: Formal/respectful (boss, stranger, older person).
  • Vos: Informal/Regional. El Voseo is used in Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of Colombia.

How to use and omit subject pronouns

  • They are not capitalized unless they start a sentence.
  • In Spanish, it is common to omit the pronoun because the verb conjugation indicates the subject.

•Ella come ensalada – She eats salad.
•Come ensalada – (She) eats salad. Pronoun omitted.

When to use the subject pronouns

Use pronouns specifically when you want to provide clarity, contrast, or emphasis:

•Emphasize: ¿Y qué van a hacer ustedes?
•Emphasis: Ella sí que es talentosa.
•After “Ser”: Soy yo. (It’s me).
•To Point Out: ¿Quién quiere comer? Él.
•Contrast: Ellas estudiaron, pero ustedes no.
•Compare: Él hace más ejercicio que tú.
•After Prepositions: Según tú.

Summary chart

Spanish subjet pronouns chart gender number usted vosotros, vosotras full guide

Exercises

Now do the following exercises to practive what you learn about the spanish subject pronouns.

We (Only male or both male and female)

We (Only females)

They (Only male or both male and female)

They (Only females)

If you're talking to your brother, you use Tú or Usted?

To talk to your teacher, you use

You (A group of people in Latin America)

You (Group of male and female in Spain)

You (2 or more females in Spain)


1.Think about people you know and assign them their corresponding subject pronoun.
Example:  Mother =Ella, Family as a whole= Ellos, Group of friend if you were in Spain= Vosotros.

2.Write 5 or more sentences using the Spanish Subject Pronouns, write one for each subject pronoun and variations (Tú, usted, etc)


Nextlesson →
Verbs Ser & Estar

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